• Both sides exchanged views on bilateral defence cooperation 

Japanese Defence Minister Kishi Nobuo who held a video teleconference with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and both sides affirmed that they will send a clear message about the importance of free, open, and rules-based maritime order, a statement from the Japanese embassy said.

According to the statement, both sides exchanged views on bilateral defence cooperation and exchanges and welcomed the steady progress being made in a broad range of areas, including naval cooperation and aerial cooperation.

“In this context, both sides welcomed the bilateral exercise “JA-LAN EX” which was successfully conducted in September 2020, Maritime Self-defence Force vessel’s first participation in Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise hosted by Sri Lanka and the U.S., which took place last week, as well as the successful delivery of the online Air Rescue seminar in May 2021. Both sides confirmed that they will share knowledge and lessons learned from infectious disease control measures taken by the defence authorities. Furthermore, both sides concurred that Japan and Sri Lanka will further promote bilateral defence cooperation and exchanges based on the Memorandum on Defence Cooperation and Exchanges signed in 2019,” the statement said.

The embassy also said both sides exchanged views on the recent regional security issues, including the East China Sea and the South China Sea. In this context, Minister Kishi expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by coercion in the East and South China Seas. Both sides affirmed that they will send a clear message about the importance of free, open, and rules-based maritime order.

BLURB
The embassy also said both sides exchanged views on the recent regional security issues, including the East China Sea and the South China Sea